Thanksgiving

    Thanksgiving is one of the most celebrated holidays in America. Only in America is there a holiday dedicated solely to eating! After the initial big feast of Thanksgiving, there is always food that is left over. So the next couple of days are spent going back and forth to the kitchen eating the leftovers. After a few days, when just looking at the food makes our stomachs protest, we end up throwing away whatever is left. May I share a truth? God despises leftovers. I am not talking about leftover food but about our leftover time, leftover worship, and our leftover prayers. The Bible talks about this practice of bringing God our leftovers.

    Malachi 1 emphasizes the greatness and love of God. Then, despite how good He has been to the Israelites, they still brought Him their leftovers. They hadn't given God the respect, honor, glory, and worship He deserved. It was the priests' job to determine which animals were acceptable, but instead they were offering blind, lame and sick animals for the sacrifices and keeping the best for themselves. They thought no one would notice them. But God noticed them. And God still notices. 

    In the state prison system, all the important legal work is dependent on the governor of the state. The governor has the authority to pardon, grant clemency, and shorten our prison sentence. Let's imagine that one day I am asked to prepare a meal for the governor, being on my best behavior. I go to my cell and pick out the cheapest ingredients and put the least amount of effort in cooking the meal, all while keeping the best for myself. Then I present it in a very sloppy way, wearing shabby clothes. Would the governor be pleased? Wouldn't that be super foolish of me? Then why do we treat God that way? In Malachi 1:8 God says, "If you're not going to treat the governor like that, then why do you treat Me like that?"But the good news is that even when we bring God our leftovers, He gives us His best. I am so thankful that even when I am a mess, He washes me clean. I'm so thankful that even when I don't deserve anything, He gives me everything. Even when I am unfaithful, He remains faithful. 

    In Revelation 3:20, Jesus is walking down the street and sees a familiar house, so He goes to it and knocks and calls out. It is an invitation for dinner. He does the same today. He is still knocking at the doors of our hearts and waiting for us to open it and let Him in so He can eat with us. The question is: Are we going to bring Jesus our best for dinner, or are we going to bring Him our leftovers?

    It's a cloudy day and it's drizzling outside. If I lay just right on my rack I can see out through my little window in my cell. It looks beautiful even though I can't tell how it feels. Seems like the little silent rain is cleaning up the air so I can better see the trees far away. The fish are making ripples everywhere in the body of water that surrounds the prison. The grass looks greener and the fields look fresh. Suddenly there was this longing in my heart to be there. A longing to feel the air. To feel the rain on my skin. To walk barefoot on wet grass. My longing was getting stronger. But then I found myself talking audibly saying, "you betrayed me! You promised me everything, but instead you took it all away. You didn't keep a single promise. Instead, you made me pay more than I wanted to. I am never ever going back to serving you again." With those words and teary eyes, I concluded my conversation with this world.

    Since childhood, I wanted to be accepted by everyone. I wanted to be the life of the party. I wanted to be the guy who made everyone laugh. The reason I wanted to be that was because deep down I was scared, alone and insecure. So I went running and chasing after this world. I gave it everything: my faith, my love, my pride, and my life. But then I learned, by experience, that what the world had to offer was nothing but a vapor. It will never be able to satisfy my desires. This is when the words of Jesus spoke to me, "Come to Me, all who are weary... for I Am gentle... and you will find rest for your souls." These words were spoken by the God Who sees me hiding and still invites me. His gentle touch restores my hurting heart. Never have I ever heard kinder words spoken to a more undeserving of a man.  In Isaiah 66:1, God calls Heaven His throne and earth His footstool. Heaven is the place where God rests His weight and Glory. On earth He lightly rests His feet. I think we get it twisted sometimes. We think of earth as His throne and so we try to rest our complete weight on it. But this world is broken, and it can never support the weight of our desires and longings. When we chase the thrones of this world then, at best, all we get is a broken footstool. So this letter is for all who knowingly or unknowingly are chasing this world. STOP! Turn around. This world is the means and Jesus the end. Not the other way around. We are citizens of heaven and this world is just a rest stop. Proverbs 11:7 says, "hopes placed in mortals die with them, all the promise of their power comes to nothing." But Jesus says in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

    Do not settle for footstools when we are created to be royalty!